Teller of the Lantern
by InoSakuShine
Summary: Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura begin at the Annual festival and end in an old creepy fortune teller's tent. She shows them a glimpse of the future and they each have enough to think about after seeing their future children... [future pairing?]
1. The Orange Lantern Tent

I know Im spitting out Fics but I do update them all. My brain just goes crazy with Ideas! With That I introduce to you...

**Teller of the Lantern.**

**Chapter 1: The Orange Lantern Tent**

"Come on! This way!" Sakura squealed and grabbed her teammates by the arms. She dragged them off in a new direction, and they wondered what goofy, stupid, cheerful event awaited them this time. In fact, if Kakashi hadn't made it _mandatory_ that they all relax and take the day off at the Annual Village Festival, they probably wouldn't be speding this time together anyway. Only Sakura wished Naruto wasn't there, Naruto wished Sasuke wasn't there, and Sasuke wished Sasuke wasn't there.

"What now?" Naruto asked as he was gratefully released from Sakura's pinching grip, the grip Sasuke yanked away from minutes ago. "What do you want to do now?" The pink haired girl pointed a finger in the direction of the brightly colored tent.

"Come on. Do we have to go?" The dark haired boy groaned and crossed his arms. They were forced to follow her into it's entrance. The moved below the bobbing orange lanterns that made their faces lumonous, and into the dark depths of the pointed tent. It was pitch dark.

"What the hell? It's closed. Let's go-" Suddenly exploding lights startled them. They snapped and crackled, introducing the dark figure that sat before them. Finally the lights turned all the way on and they squinted their eyes to see an old lady wearing the most peculair headress peering at them with large, buggy eyes.

"Welcome! Welcome! I am **Madame Mokoko**! _The famed fortune teller of the Lantern_!" Naruto's eyes bugged out of his head. Sasuke turned to leave but Sakura stepped on his foot.

"Come on, guys. Let's just get our fortune's told! Then I promise we can all go home." She was savoring every moment she spent with Sasuke and she wasn't about to end it now! And Naruto looked like he was having a good time to.

"I don't need some crazy old lady to tell me my future," Sasuke said darkly.

"Let teme leave if he wants to," Naruto suggested hopefully.

"No! I'll tell Kakashi!" Each fell silent and cast her glares from the dark. The girl jumped when the old ladys booming voice echoed in their ears.

"Yes! I will show you _your future_! As far into your futures as you would **dare** to look," she said.  
Naruto's voice was laced with skepticism. "What, in your crystal ball?" Eerily, the lights flickered and the floor changed colors.

"Dare you mock me!?" Madame Mokoko screeched. "You are afraid then?" Sakura looked at her feet.  
_ So weird_, she thought. _It feels like I'm moving closer!_

"Scared? Of what?" Naruto crossed his arms and narowed his eyes. Madame Mokoko leaned foward on her mystic table, causing some jewels to clank together.  
"What you may see?" There was a long pause. Then, Sakura bowed.

"Forgive us is we have offended you. Will you please tell us our fortunes, now?" The others could plainly hear in her voice how bored she was. They, like her, wanted to leave. Madame Mokoko laced her fingers together.

"Very well. You will all need to close your eyes." Hesistantly, they did so."Commence!" Her old voice rang out. An old serence force hit their minds, and they felt completely relaxed. Their feet left the floor, and then they lost feeling of their bodies. All they had was their minds.

What this? Sasuke thought, tensing. Genjutsu? They heard Madame Mokoko's voice. "I will show you fragments of your future. This is what _The Spirit_ is showing me. What you see you may or may not like. This is the truth. Open your eyes." They opened theior heavy eyes, expecting to see some cloudy crystal ball. What they found was that they weren't where they thought they were at all. They were all in a neat little house, sunlit and bright, completely foreign.

"Wh-where are we?" Sakura asked aloud. They each could see eachother standing, in the kitchen of the house.  
"What's going on?" They were surprised as an odd little girl skipped into the room. She seemed not to see them. What was more shocking was her appearance. Sakura, Sasuke, and Naruto stared wide-eyed at the little girl and remebered the words, "Your future."

This girl. The girl had **pink hair and green eyes**, with the most striking resemblance to _Sakura._ She was wearing odd **oversized goggles** like the ones Naruto used to wear. She turned her back to put away a dish and on her back was the **Uchiha symbol** on her blue shirt. Some feverish mumurs fell from Sakura's lips but Sasuke was in worse shock. This was no doubt Sakura's child. Was it what he thought it meant? She was wearing the Uchiha symbol.

_ ...but she has on my goggles!_ Naruto mind shouted.  
"Is this? Is this really our future," Sakura voiced aloud. The other's eyes turned to her own, noting how pale her face was.  
"It can't be a trick. How else would she know..." Sasuke said uncharacteristically. Naruto took the liberty to finish his sentence.  
"-that Sasuke is an Uchiha, that I use to wera those goggles, and...and..." The scene faded away. They blinked again and they were back in the pointed tent with Madame Mokoko's bug eyes staring at them.

"That will be 30 dollars," She said.  
"WHAT!" Naruto cried and pulled out his pockets to reveal a few coins.  
"Madame Mokoko just showed you your future! Now pay!" the old lady said venemously. Sasuke sighed and pulled some money out of his pocket.

"That's all? That's it?" Sakura asked. The old woman smirked.  
"You want to see more? That will be 30 dollars more"  
"What? No one has that much money left," Naruto said, disappointed. None of them wanted to leave. They wanted to stay and watch what they had just seen again. Reluctantly they exited the tent, and the orange glow of the lantern brightened their faces once more. They avoided eachother's eyes.

"Can we come back tomorow?" Sakura asked. Sasuke shrugged and Naruto nodded.  
"About what we saw-" Naruto began but Sasuke cut him off.  
"Let's not talk about it right now. Who knows if that was even true"  
"But you were just saying it had to be!" Sakura protested. "That was one of our children." Sasuke gritted his teeth. That child was wearing the Uchiha symbol, yet looked like Sakura. KIds with Sakura? It was far too early to even be thinking about that, but then again there was a chance she was Naruto's. He had to go the next day...

To Be ConTinUEd...!!

_Notes_

_sorry i didn't put the japanese form of money because I didn't know it!_


	2. The Captivating Orb

**Chapter 2: The Captivating Orb**

The sun was still rising in the sky when Naruto woke up. That was a record. HIs mind had been troubled all through the night with thoughts about his future. As he saw the shining sun his thoughts wandered to the orange lanterns. The blond boy jumped out of bed and tore off his black creature sleeping cap. Without thinking, his feet took him to the place where the Festival was held, and there he spied his other two friends.

Without words, they traveled together to the tent. To their dismay, everything was shutting down. Men were clearing the debris from the previous night. The one tent their eyes searched for was still standing, and without hesistation they swept aside the curtain the went it. Madame Mokoko glanced upwards at them and smiled.

"Hello, children," she greeted. "Can I help you'  
"Please, we want to know more," Sakura spoke up, thrusting out a hand full of money.

"I'm moving to the next town over, child. I don't have time for anymore fortunes." The other two made a protesting sound.  
"Please, Madame! We came here because we need to know more! Please!" The old woman raised and eyebrow, and nodded.

"Come closer. I have something for you." Concious of eachother, the three moved foward to the table where Madame Mokoko sat. She rummaged under it for a few minutes and produced a glassy ball. "This will suffice. This ball will show you short clips of your future on each new moon." A powerful desire for it rose in each of their chests. Naruto stpped foward to claim it, but Sakura held out an arm.  
"I'll take it!" She said and reached for it. "Wait," Sasuke said, a hungry eye on the orb. "Sakura, I think I should keep it"

"Why you!?" Naruto said angrily. "I want it!"  
"Either way," Madame Mokoko said pleasently. "It will be one-hundred dollars!" "Aie!" Sakura yelped, sharing the other's hurt expressions. "I can't afford that now"  
Naruto wiggled his frog wallet. "Neither can I..." They turned to Sasuke, who just buried his hands in his pockets. Sakura shrugged.  
"If we want it, we're going to have to share it and all pitch in." It took a while, but they eventually ended up agreeing. When they walked out of the tent, Sakura was holding the mystic ball.

"Hm, deosn't this seem a little cliche? I mean, a crystal ball?" Sakura voiced once they were far enough away and back on the streets. "Is it stupid that we bought a crystal ball?" "We'll just have to see on the new moon. I know what I saw before wasn't a illusion," Sasuke said. He paused. "It felt real." Naruto crossed his arms and nodded his head expertly.

"For once the teme is right. It was real." Out of the corner of her eye Sakura swore she saw Sasuke twitch. His thoughts must have visited the vision of the young gril sporting an Uchiha shirt. One thing was for sure. Neither of them could wait until the new moon. Their minds were captivated by the ball and they could really think of nothing else. Except, of course, who would keep it.

'Me! Me!" Naruto insisted, tugging the ball from Sakura.  
"Don't give it to the loser, he'll lose it," Sasuke warned. "I think I should keep it," Sakura said. "I'm responsible. And at least you know I won't dissappear with it." Sasuke shot her a glare and Naruto sighed. So it was just that; Sakura took the ball home and stashed it on her dresser and they made a pact to meet when the new moon came in exactly 7 days.

_At least I know I revive my clan...but does that mean I defeated Itachi? And married Sakura? I need to know more._

Their dreams and thoughts only stirred around the vision.

_Do I still have a chance will Sakura?_

_Will I bear Sasuke's children?_

Sakura's face reflected off the glassy ball whe the most important question popped into her head.  
_If we find our our futures, will we still be the same?_

Sorry for the American money again!


	3. The First New Moon

**Chapter 3: The First New Moon**

It is the day of the new moon. Keyword: _Day_. But still the three friends hardly have the patience until the night falls to a dark sky. Sasuke and Naruto are wandering agitatedly around the village, coming closer and closer to Sakura's house. When the pink haired kunoichi finally exits her home they both are at her dorrstep.

"Oh, I didn't know you were waiting!" She apologized, but they weren't looking at her. Their gazes were fixed on the orb cradled carefully in her arms.  
"Let's go," Naruto said.  
"Where?"

"Someone no one can interrupt us," Sasuke said. "I don't think anyone else should know about this." They nodded in agreement and followed him to the outskirts of Konoha, where they entered a cool forest, away from the daylight in the village. As they shuffled and weaved through the trees, the canopy of leaves overhead shaded them. It was as dark at night but it wasn't time, yet. Sakura's feet were just beggining to hurt and she tripped on her fourth rock when they finally found a clearing. It was a smooth break from the clustered trees with a rumbling waterfall cascading off a surronding cliff's edge. Naruto ran and sat on a large boudler in the middle.

"Perfect," he commented, looking up. The leaves above them ceased leaving a clear opening for them to see in the sky. The light was already dimming, and they wondered how long it would be. Sakura and Sasuke joined Naruto, and no one spoke. The silnce weighed them down, until at last Sasuke saw the last beam of light fade into shadow.

"I think it's time," he said. Sakura, who sat in the middle, rested the gleaming ball on her lap.  
"Okay. So...what do we do?" Naruto asked. There was a pause.  
"What do we do?" Sakura asked again. Her Inner screamed out, Oh man! This better not be a rip-off!" Naruto squinted his eyes. "Don't tell me-" Naruto and Sakura gasped. The orb between them began to glow an eerily. They leaned in and watched it intently.

"I think we're supposed to touch it," Sakura whispered. He laid a hand tentitively on the cool surface of the orb. The other's hands joined hers. They blinked. They weren't in Konoha anymore.

At first, a string of flashign images overwhelmed them. _Red. Black. Sakura's tears. Naruto flaming with red chakra. A monster's face. Naruto talking to Hinata, who had seemed to have grown her hair_. Then, that girl again with the pink hair, goggles, and Uchiha shirt. Then, time startled to slow down and the found themselves outside.

"We're...in the village," Sakura said, looking around. It looked the same as ever.  
"But what were those images before?" Naruto wondered. They hushed when the little girl from the first vision ran out onto the street.  
"Konohamaru! Bossssss!" She cried. "Wait UP! CHA!" The girl stumbled across the street and grabbed the shirt of, to Naruto's interest, Konohamaru. Konohamaru was bigger, taller, and around Naruto's present age. He was sporting a Leaf Ninja Headband and looked rather smug about it, too.

"Ah, Asuka! Go home already! I'm busy! Can't you see I'm a Genin, now? I have to go on a mission!" Konohamru grinned and planted his hands on his hips when two other children joined him from behind.

"Konohamaru!" shouted a pretty young girl with red hair in long pigtails. "We are going to be LATE! Sensei is going to KILL us!"

"If he's not later than us. Moegi, Udon, let's go! See ya, kid!" Konohamaru and his friends dashed off, leaving the girl, whose name they now knew as Asuka, alone.

"Not fair! Well, I know someone who will train with me..." She began to turn around when something pulled her back.

"Yo, forehead girl!" A girl with blond hair around Asuka's own age giggled. "Where do you think you're going?"  
"Grrr! Shut-up, Takako! Let me tell you, when I'm older...!" They bashed heads with eachother, and static crackled between their eyes.

"Sharigan!" Asuka cried playfully. "One day..."  
"Get real. For you, it's impossible."  
"We'll see." The two girls laughed.  
"Hey, I'll see you later."  
"Where are you going?"  
"To the Hokage's office"  
"Ohhhh. You go there too much."  
"Well, me and the Hokage are like this!" She crossed her fingers and giggled. The scene became blurry until no longer where they in the the village streets but in a darkening forest.

It was hard to speak. Naruto glanced at the other's. He could hear them breathing as hard as he was, but none of them were satisfied. What they had been shown still left them hanging, and did not answer more questions than it created.

_Hokage? Hokage? Who? Whose the Hokage? And who's Konohamaru's Sensei!?_

_Sharigan? I don't get it, so she can or can't use it when she's older? Were they joking!?_

_Was that Ino's daughter? Oh, I just want to know, is it Naruto or Sasuke's daughter!?_

"I guess we'll have to wait until the next new moon to see it again," Sakura said at last, breaking the depressing silence"  
"All I want to know..." Naruto said. "Is who the Hokage is"  
"I want to know...if he's dead," Sasuke muttered to himself. Sakura bit her lip. "So, let's meet again next time?" They nodded their heads.

"It's getting cold," Naruto complained. "Let's go home."

One they were back in Konoha, they went their separate ways. The only thing was, with so much on her mind Sakura wasn't ready to say goodbye. She watched Sasuke and Naruto walk in different directions, wishing she could go with one of them. She knew she wouldn't be able to follow Sasuke. It was chilly that night and she didn't want to be alone. This time, Sasuke took the Orb with him.

Naruto had a lot to think about and he doubted he'd get any sleep. Moments after he shut his door and made a beeline to the fridge he heard someone knock. Puzzled, he opened the door and greeted...Sakura.

"Hey, what ar you doing here? Come in," he said. He led her into the kitchen where she toko a seat.  
"I just thought I'd...oh, I don't know. I didn't want to be alone," she admitted. Naruto looked surprised at her words.

"No problem, you can stay here for now! Wnat anything?" the blond boy smiled generously. Sakura shook her head.The rising heat from a boiling pot of water on the oven reached her cheeks.

"Um, Naruto? Doesn't anything you saw...bother you? I just can't get it out of my head." Naruto paused from what he was doing.  
"Heheheh! Nah!" Naruto's grin widened. "Why would it bother me? It's just our futures"  
"But what if we see something we don't like?" It took a trained wyw like Sakura's to see Naruto's grin slip for instant.

"Hokage..." he murmered. sakura tilted her head. "I just... want to see if I'm the Hokage. What if I'm not?" Sakura was quiet.

"But that's impossible! I am the future Hokage! No matter what..." Sakura smiled.  
"Naruto, if you aren't the Hokage in the vision it deosn't mean you'll never be the Hokage. We don't know how much time had gone by. For all we know you could be Konohamaru's Sensei. None of us know yet what's going on until we get more information. I'm sure it will be fine."

Their bodies felt warm with new reassurance, and new hope. The hope that they would get what they wanted, and make it happen.  
"I knew that!" Naruto said. "It was just a hypo-thetic...hypo-...hypothetical scenario! That it!" Sakura giggled.

"I shoudl be going home. I wonder if Sasuke's okay..." she got up and put her hand on the dorrknob.  
"Sasuke!?" Naruto cursed. "Bye, Sakura!" It was nice to have had her attention while it lasted. One thing was for sure, Naruto thought before he decided he could sleep. I don't _need _a crystal ball to tell me I'm going to be Hokage. But it can if it _wants_ to, that's all.


	4. The Real Reason

Thanks for the reviews. Love that suspense. And, we continue...

_Where we left off..._

_"I should be going home. I wonder if Sasuke's okay..." she got up and put her hand on the dorrknob.  
"Sasuke!?" Naruto cursed. "Bye, Sakura!" It was nice to have had her attention while it lasted. One thing was for sure, Naruto thought before he decided he could sleep. I don't need a crystal ball to tell me I'm going to be Hokage. But it can if it wants to, that's all._

_

* * *

_

**Chapter 4: The Real Reason**

Three troubled dreams and sleepless nights later, the new sun rose in the sky. In no way did it imrpove the moods of the three hearts of Team 7. Lack of sleep made everyone cranky. Not to mention they had a few missions scheduled for the morning, and Kakashi just wouodn't leave them alone.

"Is there anything you want to tell me? You seem very distracted," their Sensei asked, examining the blank looks on their faces.

"No," Sakura and Naruto said together in a monotone voice. Kakashi wasn't convinced and became unpatient.

"I'm not asking you because I make it a priority to know you business. As you know on a mission a ninja must be completely focused and not be distracted by any other issues. If you don't clear your heads I won't risk putting lives in danger because of it." They were surprised at his strict tone. It was hard to speak. Naruto was the best actor, so he pitched their excuse.

"What! No way, we're fine! Finally, a mission! I thought I was going to die of boredom! Come on, come on, come on!" He jumped up and down, hyper and ready to go.

_Yeah, right_, Kakashi thought. _Since when does Naruto speak for anyone but himself?  
_

"I'm going to get something done. I'll be back in ten minutes. Get yourselves together or I'll pass on this mission and give it to someone else." Kakashi disapeared in a cloud of smoke, away from Naruto's loud protests. As soon as he was gone, he fell silent and slumped against a tree in thought.

"Kakashi catching on to us," Sakura said meakly. She, too, was sitting down.  
"Don't tell him anything," Sasuke said. They didn't know why, but they all shared the mutual feeling that their secret ought not to be told. There was a small sigh and Sasuke joined them on the ground.  
"_Asuka_..." he whispered to himself. Sakura heard him and put her head down.

"I don't like this," she said. The others looked at her inquiringly.  
"I don't like waiting either!" Naruto comlpained. Sakua shook her head.  
"That's not what I meant," the girl said softly. "I just don't like the fact that we're becoming so disstracted by all this. All I can think about is the next new moon. I don't think this is good."

"Nobody told you you have to come," Sasuke said abruptly. Naruto growled and glared at his irritable teammate.

"What are you trying to say?" Naruto snarled. Sasuke leaned back against the tree feeling for vibrations. His eyes shifted left and right, checking to make sure Kakashi wasn't nearby. No one appeared to be present but them and the wind that swayed the trees.

"All I'm saying is that this is serious. This deosn't need to concern you, Sakura, just turn your back and don't tell anyone. You don't have anything that you really need to know, so leave it." Naurto said nothing, expecting Sakura to defend herself, but his words hit her. Hard.

_I don't have anything I need to know?_

It was true. Sasuke wanted deperately to know the future of his clan, of his brother, and Naruto had to know if he was Hokage. What did she need to know? If she would end up with Sasuke? She reflected on it, and suddenly her life seemed so unimportant, so petty. It was silly.

"Now look what you did, teme!" She heard Naruto snap indignantly, for she had been contemplating with her head down. She picked up her head and looked at them, hurt.

"No. He's right. I have no right to speak." Defeated, she decided. I won't go with them any longer.

"But this _does_ involve you! What about Asuka! She's your child, Sakura. We don't know who the father is-" At this point, he shot Sasuke a dirty look-"but we know you're the mother. And maybe you could help us. Don't ever let Sasuke tell you the value of what you want"  
"Naruto..."

"You idiot. I didn't tell her that. I'm just saying that if she's worried about it taking over her life then why bother?" "Ehh?" Naruto collasped on the ground.

"Sasuke, you're right." Sakura told him. "But I've already decided. I'm still going. Like Naruto said, it involves me, and I might be able to help you. I'm doing it for you two." It was always easier to th ink of her teammates than herself, she thought. Sasuke spared her a side-glance before closing his eyes.

"Hn," was his response.

"Did you three work out your problems?" a voice asked behind them, causing Naruto and Sakura to jump.  
"Y-Yes!" they chorused, wondering how long Kakashi had been standing behind them. Seeing the looks on their faces, he said,  
"Don't worry. I just got here." he winked.  
"Alright, let's get on tha mission!" Naruto thrust a fist in the air, because nothing could stifle the excitement of a new mission.

* * *

Short, I know, but I'm saving more plot for the next chapter. Just wait :)


	5. The Sick Temptations

**Chapter 5: Sick Temptations**

"Another new moon today," Sakura said to herself, an uneasy feeling brewing the pit of her stomach. She looked at her bedrrom calendar. The special date was circled in pink marker. "Okay, let's meet Sasuke." She left her house without saying a word to her mother, yet again. As she traveled in the direction of the Uchiha Manor she pushed her fingers together nervously. She didn't understand why, the anxious feeling was growing worse. She didn't know whether it was excitement or nervousnessm it was easy to confuse the two. She blamed it on the fact that she had skipped breakfast this morning, and dinner yesterday night. It felt as if she was going to be sick. With that thought, she doubled over, holding her stomach.

"Sakura!?" She heard two voices behind her, and willed the sickness to go away, along with the other's concern for her. Naruto and Sasuke approached from both sides.

"What's wrong?" Naruto asked, concerned.  
"Nothing," she murmured. "Just a...stomach ache. That's all!" She straightened her back, still holding her stomach.

"I knew it," Sasuke said, a black eye scanning her. "It's making you sick"  
"That's ridiculous! How can it," she gestured to the orb in Sasuke's arms, "be making me sick"

"Whatever, Sakura. You're the one who's going to have to live with it," Sasuke said coldly, his glare even more icy than usual. Naruto fixed him with an angry stare, one that plainly said, What's wrong with you? They started to walk to the old spot again, but nobody had much to say. That it, with the exception of Naruto, who edged closer and closer to Sasuke. Finally, the blond whispered something inaudible to Sakura in his ear.

"Why are you trying to make Sakura stay back?" he hissed. There was a pragnant pause before Sasuke decided to reply.

"_Look at her_," he said quietly. Naruto turned around and glanced at Sakura behind him. Suddenly, he felt sick.

Naruto knew well that he spent a good fraction of his life looking at Sakura. He spent a good fraction on his life planning on how he could win her over, too. But, he was so distracted by the lure of the crystal ball and thoughts about the future that he hadn't really paid attention to the present. Sakura, he finally noticed, had dark circles under her eyes and hollow cheeks, messy hair and dull eyes, all the things that stripped her of her usual liveliness. She looked absolutely sick.

"And you think the stress is getting to her?" Naruto asked, alarmed, but Sasuke refused to give him anymore answers.

What was this ball really doing to them?Telling them their futures, yes.But what if they didn't like what they saw?Where they bound to what they saw, or could they change their fate. He thought of Old Madame Mokoko. She once asked them if they were too scared to see their futures, he recalled.

Fate, thought Naruto miserably. There's no such thing anyway.

They once again entered the shady canopy of leaves, and sat on the large rocks, and waited till the sky grew dark. Sakura cradled the orb in her shaking hands, and the other two watched. Naruto watched her more than the ball, but at the same time noticed how it was slipping from her grip and her eyes closed slowly. It rolled to the end of her fingertips.

"Sakura!" Naruto dived foward and caught the fragile glass ball before it crashed to the ground. The weary girl jerked up straight.

"I'm sorry! I'm just so tired." The conversation was interrupted by a bright light. They looked down; the orb was glowing lumonously. Eagerly, they each shut their eyes, ready for their hunger of knowledge to be satisfied.

_Black_. Everything was black. Slowly, their eyes opened and they were no longer looking down at the mesmerizing orb. They were looking straight into the blood red eyes of Itachi Uchiha. To Sasuke's disappointment, the image faded rather quickly into a different scene, leaving him breathless. It was a starry night. Not much appeared to be happening. After a while of this, Sakura's voice penetrated the silence.

_"Is anything happening?" She found that her feet were tree, and she could move. "Guys-look!" She walked closer to them.  
"We can...move?" Naruto shuffled around. They were surprised at this new discovery. "Does this mean we could go anywhere we want?" He grinned at the idea._

_Some bushes rustled behind them, and Sasuke put a finger to his lips. "Shh," he hissed. The whirled around and pushed past the said bushed to find an older Naruto panting heavily. It was obvious he had been training hard by the beads of sweat rolling down his face. Beside them the bush rutsled again, causing Sakura to jump. Next to her a girl forced her way out of the same brush they came out of and entered in the moonlight. The light reflected off her pale, blank eyes and shone on her dark hair. Clearly this was Hinata. She stepped closer to Naruto with a pink coloration reluctantly entering her cheeks. Quietly, she said something because Naruto wasn't aware of her presence. Naruto's eyes widened and he turned to the soft voice.  
_

_He grinned. "Naruto, are you exhausted?" They heard her ask. Hinata was different, they noticed. Not only was her hair much longer than before and her figure more grown-up, but her voice didn't quiver with weakness as it did in the present. The older Naruto grinned._

_"Nah," he smiled through the pain, as always. Nothing about him had changed, besides of course, his strength. While Sakura stared intently at Hinata, and Naruto stared at his oder self, Sasuke gaped with wide eyes at the training ground. Every tree in Naruto's proximity had been unrooted, upturned, or completly torn apart. His surprise wasn't displayed on his face.  
_

_Hinata said a few more inaudible things, her voice growing more and more quiet as if someone would hear them. Why am I talking to her? Naruto thought. When did this happen? The older Naruto looked shocked, but in a pleasing way. He smiled again, and put a hand on her shoulder. Sakura gazed fixedly as both their head leaned in closer..._

Then image faded away. A new window opened to them.

_It was Asuka again. The pink haired child skipped through the hallway and stood before a door. The door was marked, "Lord Hokage's Office." Naruto felt a lump rise in his throat, and his fists clenched. Her soft pinkish hand reached for the doornob_. The image began to fade.

"No!" Naruto cried. "Not yet! No, no, no!" He kept his eyes open for as long as her could muster, until he was forced to blink. Once he opened his eyes, he found himself next to Sakura and Sasuke all over again. "No!" he shouted, frustrated. "Why did it have to end?" His palms were sore and throbbing. As he glance downward his found that he had been clenching his fists so hard his nails dug into his skin and bled. Sakura sighed.

"Calm down, Naruto. Next time." Sasuke too looked irritated, too, and it plainly showed on his face. There had been nothing for him in the vision, nothing that involved him besides the taunting glance of Itachi, but that just left him hungry formore. Then again, they did make an important discovery. Where they now allowed to move freely throughout the vision? They wouldnt know until next time.  
Suddenly, Sakura slumped over. Her whole body slid foward and her eyes fell shut.

"Sakura!" Sasuke snapped, catching hold of her body before it slid to the ground. He held her shoulders to steady her, and shook her gently.  
"Sakura? Sakura?" Naruto snatched her wrist.  
"She fainted."

* * *

Asuka-did I ever mention her name means frangrance of tommorow? 


	6. The Misplaced Crystal

**Chapter 6: The Misplaced Crystal**

Sakura woke up and didn't recognize a thing. At first she thought she was going insane, especially when two dark onyx eyes studied her from above. As things came into focus, she realized it was Sasuke.

"Sakura?" Blue eyes swam into vision, too. She summoned enough strength to sit upright. She felt a hand on her back support her.

"Where am I?" she asked.

"Sasuke's house," Naruto's voice answered. "It was the closest place." Someone pressed a glass of water in her hand, and she sipped it thankfully.

"Sakura-chan are you okay? Really?" She could now fully see around her. Sasuke and Naruto were standing by her-she was on a couch. This was her first time inside the Uchiha Manor. Too bad her headache was so splitting she couldn't enjoy it.

"I'm..." She was about to say fine, but whe couldn't bring herself to lie anymore. "I don't know." She almost shuddered from the icy perception of Sasuke's cold stare.

"Sakura what happened? I need to know what's making you sick," Naruto said. The light haired girl shook her head.

"It's not that simple. _I _don't know what's wrong with me."

"I could make a few guesses," Sasuke said icily, scanning her. "You haven't been eating," he began, and Naruto's eyes bugged out.

"Sakura, how could you stop eating!" he cried, looking at Sakura's thin body. She insisted she was eating fine, and after some prodding admited she lost her appetite. Despite the harshness of his accusations she was surprised how accurate Sasuke was on all of his assumptions. He next accused her of staying shut inside all day, judging from her pale complex.

To that, she replied, "Look who's talking!" Sasuke glared. "I'm just... _stressed_ okay! It's that ..._ ball_. I can't stop thinking about it. I'm up all night thinking about it, so I don't get sleep. I don't feel hungry anymore. I can't stop thinking about the future... what if I... I..." She looked desperately from Naruto to Sasuke.

Naruto scowled, and shook his head. He exactly knew what she was thinking, because he reflected the same issues.

"Sakura, if you see something you don't like, you can change it!" he said.

"H-how that...? This is our future. It will happen-"

"This is why the crystal ball is like a blessing, not a burden! It's showing us what will happen if we keep going the way we're going! If we don't like what we see, we change it."

"Listen, Sakura-chan! _None _of us are going to go on doing this if you can't!" The blond shouted at last. Sasuke shot him a cold look.

"Speak for yourself." For him, this was a shortcut. A glimpse into the future at the right moment was all he needed. All he needed to see was one dead corpse bleeding on the earth. Two blank Sharigan eyes, with all power faded from the center. Itachi Uchiha dead at the feet of himself, with a relieved smirk on his face. That was what he was waiting for, and Sakura wouldn't stop that desire.

"Okay, then I won't, because I _care_ about her," Naruto snapped, clenching his fist.

"What does that have to do with anything? If she can't handle it, then she doesn't have to come," Sasuke growled, narrowing his eyes.

"It has everything to do with it!" Sasuke and Naruto nearly jumped and stared at the girl who was now shaking with emotion. "This is tearing us apart!"

_How cliche, _Naruto thought secretly. He started to reply in a dangerously calm voice.

"Honestly, Sakura-chan, in order for us to be torn apart there had to be something to be torn in the first place. Sasuke-teme is an asshole and always has been. Who can expect that to change now?" Sakura's mouth fell open, but she had no idea what to say. She should kick his head in for talking about Sasuke like that, agree, or... ?

A loud bang re-awakened her senses. The door swung loosely on it's hinges and Naruto was gone. So was Sasuke.

_What now? _She was laying alone in Sasuke Uchiha's house, with no idea where the other two went. For all she knew, they could be beating the hell out of eachother outside, but at the moment she decided she didn't care. She took another sip of water and settled herself on the couch. She fell back asleep. When Sasuke returned, she was gone.

* * *

For weeks it remained the same. Naruto and Sasuke hadn't spoken a word to eachother, Sakura was always fatigued, and Kakashi was suspicious. And it stayed that way, all the way until the new moon came.

* * *

The Orange clad boy shut the door behind him to find both his teammates already waiting for him. 

"Oh, I was just about to go to your house," Naruto said passively, the first words he said to Sasuke in weeks.

"Why would you do that?" The Uchiha responded smoothly.

"Because you have the orby-thingy," Naruto said, annoying creeping into his tone. The blond yawned and joined the other two, who didn't budge.

"No," the Uchiha said coldly. "You have it."

"_No_..." Naruto repeated, and cautiously jumped backwards as an angry red flushed Sakura's features. "Teme, I swear you had it!"

"Yes, dobe, I _had_ it," Sasuke said slowly, looking murderous. "I caught it when Sakura fainted-" At this, Sakura blushed with embarrassment-"And gave it to you to hold when I held her up."

"And then I gave it back to you as I carried her to your house!" Naruto said.

"And then you took it once you put her down by the steps. I had to take out my key to unlock the door, then _I_ carried her in."

"Then I... I..." The blond thought. _What did I do?_ "Oh yeah! I put it in your mailbox for a sec 'cause I had no place else to put it!"

"You-put-it-in-my-mailbox?"


	7. The Shattered Glass

**Chapter 7: The Shattered Glass**

Naruto wasn't sure was motivated him more. The fact that the sacred, super-important crystal orb was lost in a mailbox, or the string of curses and violent possibilities that flew of Sasuke Uchiha and Sakura Haruno's mouths as they chased him there. At last, the trio reached the mailbox.

Naruto hurried to it and retched in open. He grabbed fistfulls of mail and threw them out. Sakura caught one floating in mid-air and examined the envleope.

"_Ino_? Ino's been writing to you?" She said angrily, and the letter was snatched out of her hands by Sasuke, who just thre it to the ground himself, anyway.

"Would you two mind you own business and quit recking my mailbox. _Move_!" He shoved Naruto aside and looked himself.His hand hit the end of the mailbox, and he growled.

"Gone," he said in a dangerously low tone.

"That makes no sense! There was no adress on it so how could it have be mailed?" Sakura exclaimed.

"You think someone took it?" asked Naruto.

"There no way we can find it now, thanks to you," Sasuke said coldly, glaring at Naruto. Naruto crossed his arms.

"No, I know how we can find it! We'll just find that crazy old bat again and ask her where it is!"

"How the hell would she know where it is?" Sakura boomed at his stupid idea.

"Well-!" Naruto defended himself best he could, but a bit indignantly. He pouted like a child. "Well she should know! She's like-magic or something! It's our only hope, we have no leads to who took it! I'm sure she'd know!" It was true. In his heart, he was almost positive Madame Mokoko would know.

"Yeah, well, I don't suppose you know where she is!" Sakura said, again angrily. The other two looked at her curiously, as she seemed to be her old self again. They didn't know if that was a relief or not...

"She's in the nextoutpost town over," Sasuke said in a falsely nonchalant way.

"How can you be so sure?" The pink kunoichi questioned.

"Do you think that all the stuff in the fair just comes to Konoha? No, it moves around. It should be in the next outpost town of-"

"Of Ebtsutu!" Naruto finished. For a moment, he was hopeful.

"We have until tonight," Sakura commented dryly. "You really think we'll make that deadline?"

"We have to try." Naruto would not be deterred. He was so sure that the next visioin would have the answers..."

They three were pretty suspiciousas they dashed from the Konoha gates. Before that, Sakura went through mysterious means to obtain a pass that she waved in the air so that they got through, unquestioned. When asked about it, she refused to say anything.

"I got it, that's all that matters, alright?" she barked back.

Within a half-hour, they reahced the outpost town Sasuke was talking about, Ebtsutu. Sakura was actually surprised to see carnival lights and decorations and streamers exploding around the town. Hope filled her again, and the searched for the Fortune Teller's Tent. It wasn't too hard, except that twice naruto stumbled in the wrong one. The Wrongs ones happened to be an all-you-can eat buffet (Sakura had to practically pry Naruto out) and a brothel (In which Naruto was thrown out).

At last they came upton the famillair tent, with the bobbing orang lanterns swinging omniously above them. Naruto reached out a hand and opened the flap. He disappeared in. Sakura and Sasuke followed.

Even Sasuke's sharp eyes took a while to adjust to the unpleasent dimness inside the tent. It was more eerie than before, and he felt Sakura's hand slip on his and squeeze. The dark haired boy advanced foward indifferently, until Sakura hand fell and a mystical voice boomed in front of him.

"Behold! You enter the ten of Lady-"

"Skip it, lady, we know it all!" Naruto said. There was a shocked pause, and the lights flickered on and an old, odd woman adjusted her large glasses.

"Ah yes, it's you." Naruto was to busy trying to blink the light spots out of his eyes from the sudden change of light to reply.

"Y-you were expecting us?" Sakura's thin voice implored. The old woman, garnished with clanking and rattling jewels, nodded and clasped her hands.

"Lady Laokomu knows all," she smiled.

"Wait- you aren't Madame Mokoko?!" Naruto cried, still rubbing his eyes.

"No, I am. I change my name every town I visit. I don't like pursuers." Naruto narrowed his eyes.

"Well, we have a favor."

"Mmm hmm," Lady Laokomu reponded knowingly. She reached under her desk and pulled out something that made them gasp. In her hands were the very same crystal ball they were sure they had lost! The devil-ish smiled Lady Laokomu was wearing was very daunting.

"But-! But why do you have it! What a rip-off! A hoax!" Naruto shouted indignantly, pointing a finger at her.

"The Crystal Orb always comes back to it's true master," she said.

"And I bet you want us to pay to get it back," Sasuke asked.

"No," she said surprisingly. "Actually, I didn't expect you to come looking for it. When it returns itself to me I sell it to another interested soul." All three sweat-dropped.

Naruto thought. 

"So give it back!" The blond demanded. "That's a rip-off!"

"_You're _the ones who lost it, hm?"

"It was all Naruto's fault! It won't ever happen again," Sakura said quickly. Lady Laokomu handed off the ball to Naruto.

"I expect to see you again, soon," she said. They thanked her and eagerly left the tent. It surprised them how dark the sky had become; time seemed so indefinite inside that orange lantern tent. And now, they hurried to a secluded spot where the crystal ball would show them another vision.

Somewhere between Konoha and Ebitsutu, they found a nice, lonely clearing. It was small and shdy, but open to the sky with a few large rocks protruding upwards. Each sat themselves on the largest one, and placed a hand on the now glowing orb. It became brighter and brighter, and with the blink of an eye they where in the village.

"Asuka! Asuka, where are you going?" asked a blonde girl about the same age as the child.

"To the Hokage's office, I'll be right back!"

"Oh, okay." The blond girl didn't think it was strange at all that her friend was heading there.

Flash.

"You're finished," an older Sasuke growled, and raced towards his elder brother, who stood still.

Flash.

"I would like to now present the award for Most Outstanding Medical Achievements in the Village Hidden in the Leaves," A man was saying before a great crowd in a building they have never seen. "The award goes to... Sakura Haruno!"

Flash.

The small pink haired girl reached out a hand and knocked a few times on the door that said Hokage's Office.

"Come in," a deep voice said. The girl pushed open the door and-

CRASH!

Naruto and Sasuke jolted back into reality upoen hearing a startling crash. Shards of glistening glass where scattered all over the ground and was panting with her eyes squeezed shut. Dumbfounded was hardly the word. Neither Sasuke or Naruto could will any words to rise from their dry throats.

Sakura, however, leapt to her feet.

"I broke it! I couldn't stand it! What if..." She gazed at the broken pieces that were once the crystal ball. Her green eyes were reflected back at her.

"I'm sure I did the right thing," she concluded, but still couldn't face the others. Naruto mouth was hanging open, and there was a blank look in Sasuke's eyes. Finally, he stirred.

"You broke it..." It was a statement.

"Yes, and now we can all break out of it's spell!" she said, snapping her fingers in front of Naruto's eyes. "What's the point of living if you alreayd know what's going to happen, huh? Like telling the ending to a book! Right? Right?" She aimed this more towards Naruto, who was just completely speechless.

"_Right before she opened the Hokage's door_," he said at last, hoarsely. He swallowed.

"We're telling Lady Laokomu what I did, then returning to _normal life_. Let's go." She began to lead the way, but not for the reasons she pretended. As sure as she sounded, she hadn't meant to break the Orb. She panicked, and threw it. And she wasn't sure what the other's reactions would be, so she walked faster, fearing Sasuke's wrath and Naruto's disappointment. And those reactions were there, she just refused to look at them as the two boys followed her back, fuming.


	8. The Intricate Way

**Hello, again. I should warn you abut this one...**

* * *

**Chapter 8: The Intricate Way**

"Why," Naruto kept repeating dismally, following Sakura's steady lead. "Why... _why_..." Sakura didn't bother to turn around- she already knew Naruto would be near tears and Sasuke dangerously mutinous. In fact, she didn't think she could _bear_ to look at their faces.

She thought wisely. 

"Don't worry I know this is right," she told her 'shadows', unable to stand the silence. "And Lady Laokomu will understand, too."

"But..." Naruto said weakly, too miserable to put up a real argument. That and, well, he trusted Sakura. Even if she did tear his future as he would have known it from his own hands, and smashed it on the ground so that it shattered in a hundred irreplacible pieces.

* * *

A little while later, the three were back again, at the mystical tent with grim expressions on their faces. Sakura decided to skip the whole song and dance and cut through the tent bluntly.

"We're back," Sakura said shortly, disregarding the 'magical' lights and such used for a visitor's entrance.

The old woman they saw so often raised an eyebrow.

"This is getting tedious."

"We-" the pink haired girl began, but corrected herself. "I mean_, I_-"

"I know what happened," the Lady said boredly and propped her head on her hands, causing her shiny bracelets to jingle eerily.

"But how?" Sakura's insides clenched. It was the first time she heard Sasuke spoke since she broke the ball, and he sounded quiet and emotionless. Yet, there was some desire in his tone. Could he possibly want another one?

"I sense these things," She said. "You broke the magic crystal ball." She smiled. "You were unable to handle the truth of the future." Suddenly, her taunting words of the past flashed in their memories as if they were in another vision. She once told them that they may buy the thing if they

Sakura hung in some shame. "It was me. I couldn't, for _us_." Then Sasuke cut in.

"Is there any other way?" he said. Sakura glanced at him fearfully-he still didn't get over it. He was hungry for more.

Fortunetly for Sakura, Lady Laokomu shook her head. "It wouldn't be wise."

"Is there or is there not?" Sasuke demanded. Naruto suddenly stepped foward.

"No, Sasuke. Leave it alone. We weren't ever meant to see the things we saw-" Sasuke growled.

"Maybe _you weren't_, you don't need to be involved."

"Silence!" The old Lady baged a bony fist on her table, and her bracelets jingled noisily. The dark lighting in the tent at nce became bright and clear. The inside of the tent became a watery blue. Each of them staggered back a little bit, surprised. For once there could see properly.

"No more bickering, no more will I entrust to you my sensual entities. We will be rather straightfoward about this, him? Take a minutes, breathe, become serene." Sakura had to shut her open mouth.

Sakura and Naruto both thought. 

"Alright. To answer your question," Lady Laokomu continued at last. "There are many ways, but you already proved you are not able to handle the most intense and easy method. We can predict our futures another way, by our common sense and our _exposition_. This would require a very detailed examination of your own minds and past."

Naruto gulped. "What was that?" the blonde asked.

"Tell me, do you wish to learn of your futures in wise, sensible means? It is difficult but I will guide you."

"Is it definite?" Sasuke asked. "You will tell us?"

"Tell you, no! Heavens, you will have to figure it out yourselves!"

"What do you mean?"

"If I told you, then you wouldn't figure it out yourself, would you?"

"AHHH! STOP CONFUSING ME!" Shouted Natuo, jumping up and down. "WHAT THE HECK DO YOU MEAN?!"

"Tell me this!" Shouted the old Lady, raising her voice. It made Naruto cringe a little. "Do you or do you not wish to do it?" There was a pause.

"Yes," Naruto said first, to Sakura's surprise.

"Yes," Sasuke said also. Sakura ground her teeth. _Someone_ had to make sure they didn't go crazy.

"Me, too," the girl nodded.

Lady Laokomu settled back into her chair, calming down.

"I will explain to you this. In the story that is our lives, you exposition is the most important part of the work as a whole. As in, the begginning. It established the characters and introduces the conflict. Often from studying the exposition you will find that it reveals the ending as well. Why, is that? It is because the exposition reveals the _theme_. The theme remains through the whole story, and therefore the expostion may reveal many important aspects of the future-"

"Hey! Life is not a story! We're talking about our lives here not a story-"

"My dear, you have it switched. Your life is not a story, true, but a story is a life. The structures are similar, if not the same."

But I will get to the point. I aim to take you all into your pasts so that you may study, from the third eye perspective, you pasts... You will discover the theme of your life and from that be able to make an accurate prediction of your future."

"_So it's not definite_!"

"_Into out pasts_?"

Cries of protests erupted from both Naruto and Sasuke. They both looke duneasy about the idea, especially the idea of delving into their pasts. Sakura, on the other hand, was optimistic. It didn't sound horrible... but...

"Now that you know of this method, you must use it." A heavy silence blanketed the tent while they thought a while.

"Okay, when do we do this?" Sasuke said finally.

"Tommorow, in the morning."

"How long will it take?" Asked Sakura.

"Maybe an hour. But to you, it will seem a long time."

"And how are you going to do this?" Asked Naruto.

"I will bring you into a vision of the most important moments of your past."

It was a little nerve-wrecking to think about, but they were really going to do this thing.

* * *

**Yeah, see, they're going to 'relive' their pasts, but just watching it. You'll see, its just different from where this fic orginally started...**

THANKS FOR READING AND REVIEWING!


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